Scientific exchange, new research topics and support for start-ups: the PLUS platform aims to facilitate collaboration between researchers in China and Germany. PLUS stands for university-wide collaboration, primarily between the Faculty of Civil Engineering and Geodetic Science at Leibniz University Hannover (LUH) and the School of Environment at Tsinghua University (China). Over the last two years, the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) provided 200,000 euros of funding for the platform that focuses on collaborative water research and technological innovations. Following a successful evaluation, the project was extended for a further three years and will now enter the consolidation phase. The Federal Ministry of Education and Research will provide 450,000 euros of additional funding for the project.
The collaboration aims to promote joint research projects in the field of urban hydrological cycles, such as sewage disposal, urban drainage, or drinking-water supply and focuses on "climate change in cities", "microplastics", and "antibiotic-resistance".
Furthermore, PLUS will continue to foster academic exchange between researchers and provides mobility opportunities for particularly talented students in master's degree programmes. Under the heading PLUS-UP, the platform aims to promote German-Chinese start-ups in the field of environmental technology - especially during the foundation phase. In addition, PLUS intends to increase the visibility of German partners in Asia via joint workshops or events, as well as through publications and specific research marketing activities.
